Marvel May Lose Control of "Iron Man" and "Thor"

The heirs of comic book icon Jack Kirby have now filed a lawsuit against Marvel in order to terminate copyrights and gain profits from such comic book franchises as Iron Man, X-Men, The Incredible Hulk, and Spider-Man.

The plan is to regain control of much of Kirby's work and defeat Marvel's claim that the creations were "work made for hire" and that the studio was the real "author" under the 1909 Copyright Act.

If Kirby's children are awarded the rights, most of Marvel films currently in the works will be in jeopardy. But it is likely that the estate would not want to delay anything, they will simply force Fox (Wolverine 2, X-Men, Daredevil, Ghost Rider), Disney (Thor, Captain America, Iron Man 2), and Sony (Spider-Man) to pay tens of millions of dollars to continue developing the projects.

Kirby's estate is also looking to get a cut of the profits made by "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" and "The Incredible Hulk."

They don't deserve a goddamn thing. They didn't do anything and Kirby's been rotting for years. All these undeserving, money grubbing pricks should get round up and pushed into an active volcano with Jerry Siegel's and JRR Tolkien's families

@Ari Gold: I agree completely with your proposal. You should refrase, put it into more fancy words and then hand a printed version to the Kirbys - like:

"Hello, we represent Marvel and we are here to let you know of a possible settlement: If you agree to suck their expensive c*cks inevitably and and give up your right to discuss or claim any future amount of times that will happen - they will agree to give you a small sum for your support and effort. This payment will take place when and if they're satiesfied with your work."

"You have to set an example even in the face of stupidity! Now everybody who reads comic books knows that Kirby's Silver Surfer is the only true Silver Surfer. Now am I right?

- Yes Sir!
(Denzel Washington - Crimson Tide)

Jesus, give the guy's family some money Marvel. Without him your sh*tty little company never would have come this far. Stan Lee was nothing without the guy and neither was Marvel. I usually could give a sh*t about lawsuit droppers, but this could be about more than just money. This guy's life's work has been the major driving force behind this company's success and has been exploited in every way possible. As long a Kirby is listed as co-creator of these characters, the royalties should extend to him and the benefactors of his estate. IF Marvel hasn't been paying up while still claiming credit for this guy's creations, they deserve this lawsuit. And its great timing from a strategy standpoint. Marvel is still riding these characters except now they're pimping them for those bloodsuckers at Disney. I hope the Kirbys get something out of soulstealing company.

Let's get something straight, Kirby was a partial inventor. Now I'm sure some stories were exaggerated on his involvement, but Stan Lee was the main inventor here. Kirby was the one who gave the look of the characters, yes, but for hsi family to think they have the right to hold up some of the most anxiously awaited films in film history is completely incorrect. The shame all their father created by doing this. Dude's in heaven right now, shaking his head at his kids for their greed, which ironically also goes against all the moral fiber all those characters stood for that Kirby helped bring to life with his artwork.

Now I'm not saying Stan Lee was the only inventor, but he definitely has always been considered the inventor of like half of the characters mentioned above. I believe it was X-Men, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Daredevil, Fantastic Four, and Thor. Kirby mostly just drew the characters, but the concepts lied with Lee in most people's eyes.

Oh yeah, and the picture used for this article was perfect. It's like Iron Man has his head down in shame in defeat for what the Kirby's are doing to his franchise, considering he is the biggest right now. Iron Man 2...May 7th! Expect it, see it, love it!

The only reason there coming out of the woodwork is bc of the lawsuit dc had for its superman rights, but what these f*ckheads don't get is the reason they won is bc dc was not working on geting superman to the screen. Goi back to your privit schools you undeseving pricks all they deserve is a shot to the face

Stan Lee wrote the storys right,this guy drew them for Marvel or did they create these works THEN sell them to Marvel and if so they would have signed contracts right?So its just a case of reading them? My guess is he worked for Marvel as a cartoonist for hire in which case tough sh*t,deal'wi'it and move on sad,i guess.But this sounds a lot like greedy grandchildren wanting some free monies and nothing else.

Fact is the two go hand in hand with everything the company is still banking on except Spider-Man. Remember Kirby is listed as co-creator on most of the most of these characters not just an illustrator.

@SAC - I didn't know about Stan having to sue them (I'm not surprised to hear that).

This family (in my eyes) isn't entitled. If they were... they would have done this YEARS (decades) ago before Marvel was making $'s hand over fist in Hollywood (of course there was only a bankrupt Marvel to sue back then, so granted, what would have been the point?).

I will admit though... where I these very same people, and there was even a slight chance I could make a cash grab like this... I would. I think most on here would as well. Marvel may just give them 'off the record - hush money, signed with a gag order' - or fight them in court 'til the families are bankrupt. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out (and how much (if anything) we'll hear about Marvel's 'Final Solution.')

@ranger
I agree my friend all this sounds like is grandchildren(probably hurting for money due to the economy) trying to get money for nothing and chicks for free mova mova movie stars. I will admit I'd do the same but its the fans who are the losers in all this

f*ck Kirby's kids, thy didn't do jack sh*t and they're asking for way more then there share. if it was Kirby himself it would be understandable, but his kids don't deserve that kind of money for didly squat. a small percentage perhaps, but tens of millions? that's asking too much ...

i will admit Kirby had some good ideas, but his art-work i always thought was kind of crappy, he tried to be editor/penciler/inker/etc. for the comic books he did, he just couldn't work with anybody which i found brought down his quality.

Too true. So many people have forgotten the contributions Jack Kirby made during his time working with Stan Lee.
Yes, Stan got the main spotlight due to his writing, but it was Jack Kirby who drew so much of the artwork in Marvel's early days.
Whether his family should be compensated is not for me to say. The courts need to handle this quickly. Let's get it out of the way and settle the issue so we can get some great movies made.

I'm a huge Stan Lee fan. But admittedly he's gotten most of the attention for all things Marvel because he's simply outlived everyone (and I say that with respect - and it's true).

@encore - yeah Kirby was still drawing when I was in comics. He had his 'own' style alright. His early stuff was better. But I agree... his strong, bold lines there towards the end (as compared to the new up and coming artists) sucked the hind tit.

i would suggest you do the following before you make idiotic statements.

google "the marvel way of making comics"

and google "characters created by stan lee after jack kirby and steve ditko left marvel"

and google "characters and comics created by jack kirby after leaving marvel"

i think then you will have your answer as to how much input editor lee had in the creation of the marvel universe

here is a fact for all you f*ckin experts

for most of his adult life, jack kirby could not enter a toy store without becoming ill, seeing all the toys and games created based on characters that he had a hand in creating, and wasnt seeing a dime in residuals

here is a man who loved his family and wanted nothing more than to see them all live a comfortable life...he wasnt able to do that

I know nobody will see this but oh well. Some of you need to sit back and listen to yourselves. "f*ck Kirby's kids" You have know idea what working for Marvel did to Kirby or his family. If the guy was as dedicated and as instumental to the company's success as he appears to be, his family life could have suffered (or benefitted) as a result. How would you feel if someone was making billions off of your father's life work and not giving him any credit? The fact is if Stan Lee's kids are entitled to his royalties, then Kirby's kids should bare the same right.

Stop being so selfish worrying about your precious comic book movies. Without Kirby there would be no Captain America or Iron Man to bitch about. The studio (especially Disney) has plenty of ways to settle this without stalling the films. Its not like these people are asking for half of the profits.

@SAC-although you make a good point, and Kirby's kids should get a SMALL cut, they didn't do anything at all to get the money they're asking. regardless of how much Marvel f*cked Kirby over, and if it was him asking for the money i would completely understand, however his kids shouldn't get tens of millions just because daddy was a comic book artist/writer.

@bacci
Thanks for the advice dude, but Kirby wasn't the only one is what I'm saying. I refuse to believe that Kirby was schemed out of nearly a dozen character's successful births. And you're as one sided as I am with Lee. And, by the way, these Kirby kids aren't asking for a little profit. They want everything. This isn't about pride, this is about frikkin' money and you frikkin' know it. And if it was such a big deal why didn't these kids do it sooner like in 2005 when comic films were starting to gain momentum. They are only doing it now that comics are at their peak of interest. You saw the list of films coming out. It's frikkin' blackmail. More comic book movies are coming out now then ever and these bratty kids are trying to grab everything while the iron is hot and these companies will have to answer otherwise all the films will have to be shut down. So, overall, Lee was huge in creating the characters, which I did look up bacci so forget you, and Kirby was the artist behind them. So I agree that he should get more for bringing the concepts to life on paper, but don't act like he was the brains of the operation. Skippy Spartan is right, these kids are being *ssholes just to get money off. Bet you anything they didn't care ten years ago. If anything, they are shaming their father's work by making money off him.

@bacci
Oh yeah, and FYI but he is marked as artist for everything, not creator. Also, check newspapers like an article I read from the LA Times. Jack Kirby considered himself an artist, not a concept creator and everyone says this. So please, watch YOUR comments before you criticize someone. Makes you look like a douche in the end.